THE PAGAN SPIRIT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22099, 3 May 1935, Page 18

THE PAGAN SPIRIT

By H. C. MAYDON

- CHAPTER Vll.—(Continued) 'And now I realised Pedro's urgency, for out of the shadows glided and slid long, thick, uncoiling masses, and the ugly venomous heads of huge snakes rose and hovered and darted. Too late, the last two stragglers of the Dankalis realised the fate that threatened them, and with a despairing shriek Hung themselves toward us. One reached us and wo flung him across; the other I,saw wrapped in the coils, and v with his shrieks in our ears we jumped. As we landed safely I saw Pedro whip round and stamp behind him. The portcullis rock fell, and in its fall severed the head and a foot of; the writhing body of a boaconstrictor that wriggled at out feet. Pedro and I stood panting in the passage, then we turned and hurried after the. rest of our party. A few yards down the passage we found them, their further retreat blocked by the second portcullis, which, on the same principle as on tlio far side, worked as a pair and cut off twenty yards of passage-way between its two gates;

Joan leant back against the passage wall pale and cold, upheld only by her spirit, while Bongo crouched at her feet, alternately bristling and trembling. Near by stood Fadla Mulla, clay-hueri, clasping a torch, which ewa.yed. He was game to the death, but these unknown horrors had numbed his brain. Now and again he pushed or kicked the stone door impotently. He was beyond coherent thought, but he craved for action to outrun fear. For the Dankalis, they jostled in a bunch, demoralised, almost bevond movement.

Pedro alone kept cool. These were not unknown terrors to him. he knew the extent of them, and he knew that they were now passed. " All right now, mister," he muttered, " all easy now to the gate b.y my house. Just let me open the door as before;- you push the people through and I will "close the door v again. There are still plenty of bad snakes behind us, but no more in front." . Again he sought for » hidden side passage and disappeared up it. A taw moments later the heavy stone door slid upward and I hustled the piirty through. Although we leapt the threshold for safety, I rightly gUessed that no spring guarded the outer gate. As Pedro told me later, it was only the paving stones of the inner doors which hid a spring to close the two portcullis. The engineers' plan was to entrap unwelcome visitors between the two stone doors. If they survived that and made entry to the inner chamber the snakes would destroy them. The sna,kes themselves lived in holes and crannies in the inner chamber, and for some . unknown reason never came down the passages, possibly their weight was enough to drop the portcullis. Undoubtedly their holes must lead "out to the open air above to enable them to get food. The noises we had heard were caused by water in 6ome subterranean cavern, noises of water Only released when the portcullis were lowered. Age-long habit had taught the snakes that on such occasions they might hopefully search for prey. Jackals and other wild animals woilld make their entry Ibefore the door had time to drop. , But all this I learnt later.

Soon after we had passed the outer door Pedro rejoined me, and we continued our wav down the new passage". We were too shaken and anxiousi to ask questions. The Dankalis followed at our-heels like whipped curs. For an hour or two we plodded on in almost complete silence, only pausing for a moment from time to time to enable one or other to light a new torch, of which we carried a supply. The passage appeared to run almost dead straight, occasionally threading a chain of smaller cares, with now and again' a minor side passage deviating to right or left. To our relief tiiere •were no more vestiges of man anc; no more horrors. It was just on six a.m. by m 3' watch when we reached the exit of the subterranean passage, and dawn was already breaking. In the last stage trie passage connected with a large and lofty cave, from which half a dozen passages also took their beginning. Without hesitation, Pedro chose the one that led us, within five minutes, to the open air. The exit was cleverly concealed, and we ended with a shoit, perilous descent down a crack in uhe mountain wall to a bush-clad ravine below. . The Dankalis were mad with joy at their deliverance, and ran about shouting like children. After a short walk we found a shady, grassy nook bv a running stream, and settled down tor breakfast and a long rest. Heaven knows we needed it, for we were chilled to the marrow of our bones, partly by the intense cold of the passage and partly bv the horrors it contained. " Well, mister," asked Pedro, "you do not like my underground road?" '' No, Pedro, certainly not. \\ hy on earth did you bring, us that wa,\ ? "It was the Safest for you. All that country behind us," and he waved his hand, "is full of fighting and raiders. HabishesandDankalis. The new Pas has let loose all the Dankali tribes against the Debrocharis, and has littie control of them. You would almost certainly have been seen, and probably killed. The man you call Abu Tunsah is a good man, and is determined to bring you safely to the Has. When he found you he sent for me and asked my advice i said that I would guide you back by the secret way, and although all these natives l'ear that way worse than death, Abu Timsah ancl these few of his men consented. It is the first time they have been that way. "And will probably be the last," 1 cut

1D - . ! " I'es. 1 think so, mister. 1 hope so, for it holds my family secret, and 1 do not wish intruders. I would not have guided you that way, but 1 like the English,' and it is what the Has would have wished, I know." " Why are you all so anxious to take us to the Ras?" asked Joan. "Do you think he will be pleased to see us? Tell us something about him. Who is lie? Will ho let lis go? Will he be willing to help us?" Pedro stared at her curiously. "'Lady, you do not know who is the Ras of Jebel Dankali? That is hard tu believe. But no matter. 1 will tell you nothing. To-morrow you shall see him vourselves. Oh, yes, he will be pleaseu to see you and will help you. lie is a great man." "Oh, by the way," continued Joan, "vou told ■ us you were a prisoner in Dcbroohar for some time. Did you happen to see or hear of an Englishman there, who was a prisoner about the same time as you?" Pedro shook his head with an air of incredulity. " Ladv, there is something strange here. Something which I do not understand. Please do not ask me questions now. Have patience until you have met the Has." " But surely that is a simple question to answer, Pedro?" "I know of no Englishman, Lady," and in spite of all our questions Pedro would tell us no more, nor speak further of his imprisonment. But from where we sat he pointed out where the ruins of his old home lay. destroyed proba.bly

(COP r RIGHT)

AN INTRIGUING STORY OF LOVE AND ROMANCE

by order of the Germans years ago. Near by, lie told us, were some very ancient stone ruins, built, he supposed, by the ancient people who had used the passages.

" Who were they, Pedro?" we asked. "Ah, that you should know better than I do," lie answered, "for there arc no* wise men who study and writo the history of the past; such as the white men who work and dig in ancient Egypt, as 1 am told. But from what 1 have seen and heard I think that maybe the men who worked here thousands of years ago were the same as those.who "made the great buildijigs in Egypt."

" I think you are very likely right, Pedro," said* 1, "and I should very much like to find out for certain." Then we went on to question him about the passages, and especially about the room of the serpents. But we found him very reticent.

After our meal and a long rest we continued the march. We found ourselves in rugged, broken country, among the hillss overlooking the Mareb River. Our underground way had evidently followed the southern bank of the Mareb scarp, and in some twenty miles had led us away from the sharp, precipitous cliff, which encircles the Adua plateau, to a region of small detached hills and ridges, cut by deep ravines, all feeding the Mareb. We were lower in altitude, and away to the east the country dropped sharply toward the lowlands) of the soa littoral. As we still moved eastward the country grew more and more rugged and volcanic with huge stretches of once molten lava, how hard and_ bare and hideous. Isolated, far away in the distance, a gr:>at crater-shaped peak stood out like the corner-stone of the highlands, looming over the Mareb valley, and the sharp declivity of the littoral plain. Pedro stopped and pointed to the distant peak. '. " There is the home of Dankali Ras. To-morrow we shall reach it."

We made only a short march that evening, being tired after our subterranean adventure.

The next day we followed the top of the scarp above the Mareb, through a hot, desolate country, torn and twisted by ancient earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. We slowly approached the crater mountain, which loomed lip higher and higher above us with stark, precipitous sides. By dusk it was only a raile or so away and looked the most impregnable fortress that I had ever seen.

Ln altitude it may have been three to four thousand feet and in circumference perhaps three miles. But so stark arid precipitous were its walls that it looked more like a gigantic castle than any other simile that 1 can find. There were no shoulders or buttresses; as far as the eye could see the sides fell in sheer precipes of solid, shiny rock to the waste of sand and stones which surrounded it. There was "no sign of inhabitants, nor herds, nor track, nor path. Desolation and an internal solitude reigned over everything. Joan and I expected to halt at nightfall, but Abu Timsah insisted on pushing forward. To our surprise Pedro acquiesced. There was some argument between them and Pedro approached us. " I am sorry, mister, and I am your friend. But these dogs insist that you be blindfolded. This is a secret way into the mountain, which is why we must go up by nigbt for fear of spies. You must be blindfolded, so that you do not learn the entrance. But do not fear, for it is but a short way to go. Once we are inside your eyes will bo freed again." "What is it, then?" 1 questioned. "Another secret passage?"

" Yes, but do not fear. There are no tricks nor horrors this time." So, willy-nilly, but without qualms, as we trusted Pedro, we allowed ourselves to he blindfolded and Fadla Mulla likewise, and were gently led forward across a sandy slope. For some minutes we zig-zagged up and down, were carefully piloted among boulders and through a maze of bush and finally were pulled step by step up a staiiwaj of rocks.

. When our eye bandages were removed we stood once more in pitch darkness in a low rough-hewn tunnel. But this time our Danakli guards were sprightly enough as the torches were once more lighted and we commenced a stiff uphill climb.

For the first hour it was very difficult going, sometimes in the tunnel, sometimes in the open air, twisting, .turning, and clambering upward, amid a maze of large boulders. Perhaps it was as well that the darkness foreshortened our vision, for at times it seemed that we skirted precipices and edged round corners, when a foot beyond yawned a fathomless pit. Ihe torches were extinguished in the open, but the light of a half-moon was sufficient to enable us to pick our hazardous way.